uchebnik_dlya_1_semestra

can broaden our horizons and encourage intercultural dialogue. He also pointed out the practical benefits of multilingualism:

"Meeting and talking with people from other cultures creates relationships and opportunities with unexpected benefits. It's an extraordinary way for our young people to learn how to interact with other cultures and reconcile differing points of view. In practical terms, that means we need to encourage Belgians to learn not just our three national languages but also English and other languages. Being able to speak more than one language is an enormous asset and a skill prized by employers. For proof, just look at the number of foreign investors in Belgium."

The King also talked about all that young people stand to gain from studying or working abroad via various European programmes: "We need to do even more to encourage young people to spend time as a student or trainee in another country, whether through the Erasmus programme or the Prince Albert Fund, which gives young people the chance to work in Belgian companies abroad."

(New Year's speech by King Albert II to Belgian authorities – 26 January 2010)

2. What message would you address to the younger generation if you were the ruler of the country? How would you motivate them to study foreign languages?

Reading and Vocabulary

1. Learn some interesting facts about languages. You will come across a notion of lingua franca. A lingua franca is a language used by different populations to communicate when they do not share a common language.

(A)It‘s estimated that up to 7,000 different languages are spoken around the world. 90% of these languages are used by less than 100,000 people. Over a million people communicate in 150-200 languages, one-fourth of the world's languages are spoken by under 1,000 people, nearly 500 are spoken by less than 100, and around 175 languages in the world are spoken by less than ten people. And 46 languages have just a single speaker!

Languages are grouped into families that share a common ancestry. For example, English is related to German and Dutch, and they are all part of the Indo-European family of languages. These also include Romance languages, such as French, Spanish and Italian, which come from Latin.

2,200 of the world‘s languages can be found in Asia, while Europe has a mere 260. Communities which are usually isolated from each other because of mountainous geography may have developed multiple languages. Papua New Guinea for instance, boasts no less than 832 different languages!

(B)The world's most widely spoken languages by number of native speakers and as a second language, according to figures from UNESCO (The United Nations‘ Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization), are: Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French.

(C)The ease or difficulty of learning another language can depend on your mother tongue. In general, the closer the second language is to the learner's native tongue and culture in terms of vocabulary, sounds or sentence structure, the easier acquisition will be.

So, a Polish speaker will find it easier to learn another Slavic language like Czech than an Asian language such as Japanese, while linguistic similarities mean that a Japanese speaker would find it easier to learn Mandarin Chinese than Polish.

Dutch is said to be the easiest language for native English speakers to pick up, while research shows that for those native English speakers who already know another language, the

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five most difficult languages to get your head around are Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

(D)Globalization and cultural homogenization mean that many of the world‘s languages are in danger of vanishing. UNESCO has identified 2,500 languages which it claims are at risk of extinction.

One quarter of the world‘s languages are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people and if these are not passed down to the next generation, they will be gone forever. Now nine different languages are facing the crisis, including Irish Gaelic, Maori, Berber, Guernesiais, Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Manx.

And every year the world loses around 25 mother tongues. That is equal to losing 250 languages over a decade - a very sad prospect for some.

(E)The Latin, or Roman, alphabet is the most widely used writing system in the world. Its roots go back to an alphabet used in Phoenicia, in the Eastern Mediterranean, around 1100 BC. This was adapted by the Greeks, whose alphabet was in turn adapted by the Romans.

Here are the world‘s most widely-used alphabets (or scripts) which are still in use today (in alphabetical order): Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese script, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese script, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Sinhala, Thai and Tibetan.

(F)When NASA launched the 'Voyager 1 & 2' spacecraft in 1977, they put on board golden discs containing the sights and sounds of Earth, including greetings in 55 of the world‘s most widely understood languages. These are currently travelling through space!

The United Nations uses six official languages to conduct business: English, French,

Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.

(G)Around 200 artificial languages have been created since the 17th century. The first were invented by scholars for communication among philosophers. Later ones were developed by

structure), 'Ido', 'Tutonish' (a simplified blend of Anglo-Saxon English and German) and the more commonly-known'Esperanto', invented by Ludwig Zamenhof, a Jewish ophthalmologist from Poland, in 1887.

Esperanto is a spoken and written blend of Latin, English, German and Romance elements and literally means "one who hopes". Today, Esperanto is widely spoken by approximately 2 million people across the world.

(H) The first language you learn, your mother tongue, usually comes with little conscious effort. If you're lucky, you might even acquire more than one language in the so-called 'critical period' of language learning, believed to end sometime between ages 4-12. After that, it doesn‘t come so easy, as you might have found out at school.

2. Match the paragraphs with their titles.

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GEndangered languages

HWhat are the most spoken foreign languages?

Project work

Split into groups. Make up presentation about different languages. Browse the Internet to find some more data related to languages.

Here are some more facts and statistics about languages we speak. Enjoy reading them!

There are only two living speakers of the Ayapaneco language, spoken in the state of Tabasco in Mexico. The two speakers refuse to speak to one another!

 In nearly every language around the world, the word for "mother" begins with an m sound. Some exceptions can be found in the Uralic language group.

China has more English speakers than the United States.

In some Inuit (Eskimo) languages, a noun can have over 1,000 forms.

In order to read intelligently books in their native language, Chinese pupils must be familiar with 1,000 different signs.

The language of the Khoi-Khoin tribe in South Africa consists of clicks, clacks, and kissing sounds, and is spoken by breathing in instead of out.

Beware of bottles labelled "Gift" in Germany. In German, Gift means poison!

In most languages, just 200 words comprise are enough for an average conversation.

In the Inuktitut language, spoken by the Inuit (Eskimo), there are 14 words for snow: anuigaviniq (very hard, compressed, or frozen snow), apijaq (snow covered by bad weather), apigiannagaut (the first snowfall of autumn), katakartanaq (snow with a hard crust that yields when stepped upon), kavisilaq (snow roughened by rain or

with an icy surface), and qiqumaaq(snow whose surface has frozen after a spring thaw). Of course, the English language has many words for snow as well, such as "snow", "slush", "powder", "flakes", and the like.

The Guinness Book of Records lists Harold Williams – the foreign editor of The Times – as the world‘s greatest linguist, speaking 58 languages. He was born in Christchurch on April 6, 1876 and died November 18, 1928.

STATISTICS

How long have languages existed: Since about 100,000 BC

First language ever written: Sumerian or Egyptian (about 3200 BC)

Oldest written language still in existence: Chinese or Greek (about 1500 BC)

Language with the most words: English, approx. 250,000 distinct words

Language with the fewest words: Taki Taki (also called Sranan), 340 words.

Language with the largest alphabet: Khmer (74 letters).

Language with the shortest alphabet: Rotokas (12 letters) spoken in Papua New Guinea.

Language with the fewest consonant sounds: Rotokas (6 consonants)

Language with the most consonant sounds: Ubyx (81 consonants). This language of the North Causasian

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 Language family, once spoken in the Haci Osman village near Istanbul, has been extinct since 1992. Among living languages, !Xóõ has the most consonants (77).

 Language with the fewest vowel sounds: Ubyx (2 vowels). The related language Abkhaz also has 2 vowels in some dialects. There are approximately 106,000 Abkhaz speakers living primarily in Georgia.

Language with the most vowel sounds: !Xóõ (31 vowels)

The most widely published language: English

Language with the fewest irregular verbs: Esperanto (none)

Language which has won the most Oscars: Italian (12 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film)

The most translated document: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written by the United Nations in 1948, has been translated into 321 languages and dialects.

The most common consonant sounds in the world's languages: /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/

Longest word in the English

language: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)



2. If you know some more exciting facts or amusing statistics about languages, share them with your group mates.

Unit 2. Being Multilingual

Lead-in

What do we call a person who knows many languages?

How many languages is it possible to learn?

Why people should learn foreign languages and become bilingual, trilingual, etc. Enumerate the reasons.

1.Watch the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfH3BtWR-tA which is called “The importance of being bilingual”. Enjoy the joke. Make some comment.

Reading and Vocabulary

1. Read the text for gist. Grasp the main idea

How many languages do you speak? If your answer is one, then you need to wake up and look around you - the world is getting smaller and the citizens of the world are rapidly bridging the boundaries of language and even social / cultural differences. Learning a new language can mean broadening career opportunities, educational opportunities, enhancing global exchange of ideas and information and, of course, enjoying the beauty of a completely alien language by getting to know the grammatical as well as socio-cultural and

historical aspects associated with it. Not just that. Learning a new language might also help to enhance your overall learning abilities and broaden your perspective while looking at the world. German, Japanese, Chinese, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish or any other language has its own rich knowledge base. Learning a foreign language

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sharpens our overall cognitive skills and helps in better understanding of several subjects and concepts associated with the language.

Learning a language is a multi-faceted learning experience, which enriches you in many ways. First of all learning a new language brings you closer to the origins of the language, and the cultural, historical and social associations of the language with its place of origin. Thus learning a language is like getting to know an entire cultural or social system, with references to the lifestyle, geography, history, arts, economy as well modern socio-cultural practices including regional dialects and diversities, clothing style, as well as the cooking practices in the area where the language is spoken.

Learning a new language is a great asset, which is highly valued in the era of globalization. It gives you an edge over others, as you become more equipped to face the global scenario than the people who have a limited set of linguistic skills for communication. In an age where business is crossing boundaries, foreign languages help to break the barriers of language and facilitate exchange of information.

So learning a foreign language can be an instrumental step in performing the global mission to solve social and economic problems in the world.

2. Mark each statement as T (True) or F (or False). If false, make corrections.

T F

1)If you speak only one language then you don‘t need to worry if it is a lingua franca.

2)Learning a foreign language helps to feel the beauty not only of this alien language but also admire the harmony of the historical and cultural background of the country where the language is spoken.

3)Learning a foreign language has nothing to do with cognitive, intellectual or analytical skills; it refers only to mechanical memorizing.

4)Learning a foreign language is a one-sided process which develops only your linguistic skills.

5)While learning a foreign language you get the whole picture of all aspects: history, geography, culture, fashion, etc.

6)Learning a new language is a kind of risky investment as nobody knows whether it will pay back or not.

7)People who have a limited set of linguistic skills for communication feel quite comfortable in a globalized world.

8)The global mission in present day society is to promote sport on a global scale.

9)Foreign languages help to destroy barriers and obstacles of all kinds and help to share information and knowledge.

3. In the text there is a word combination: “an edge over someone” which means “to have an advantage over someone, to be in superior position compared to others”. Answer the following question: what gives you an edge over other people in communication? Some ideas for you:

intuition;

in-born charisma;

knowing one or several foreign languages;

sincere interest in people;

ability to adapt to any situation;

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psychological skills;

your variant.

Discussion

1. Read the summary of following ideas of some people who participated in on-line public opinion polls about the necessity to speak foreign languages. Say what appeals to you the most.

WHY SHOULD I LEARN A LANGUAGE?

Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication. The reasons below may help to convince you to take the plunge. Some reasons are practical, some ambitious, some intellectual and others sentimental, but whatever your reasons, having a clear idea of why you're learning a language can help to motivate you in your studies.

Emigration

When you move to a different country or region, learning the local language will help you to communicate and integrate with the local community. Even if many

of the locals speak your language, for example if your L1 is English and you move to the Netherlands, it's still worth your while learning the local language. Doing so will demonstrate your interest and respect for the new country.

Family and friends

If your partner, in-laws, relatives or friends speak a different language, learning that language will help you to communicate with them. It will also give you a better understanding of their culture and way of thinking.

Work

If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chances of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.

Many English-speaking business people don't bother to learn other languages because they believe that most of the people they do business with in foreign countries can speak English, and if they don't speak English, interpreters can be used. The lack of foreign language knowledge puts the English speakers at a disadvantage. In meetings, for example, the people on the other side can discuss things amongst themselves in their own language without the English speakers understanding, and using interpreters slows everything down. In any socialising after the meetings, the locals will probably feel more comfortable using their own language rather than English.

Study or research

You may find that information about subjects you're interested in is published mainly in a foreign language. Learning that language will give you access to the material and enable you to communicate with fellow students and researchers in the field.

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Travel

Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by speaking English, so there's no point in learning any other languages. If people don't understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such places, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc, knowing the local language is necessary.

A basic ability in a foreign language will help you to 'get by', i.e. to order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets, etc. If you have a more advanced knowledge of the language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday.

Studying abroad

If you plan to study at a foreign university, college or school, you'll need a good knowledge of the local language, unless the course you want to study is taught through the medium of your L1. Your institution will probably provide preparatory courses to improve your language skills and continuing support throughout your main course.

Secret communication

If you and some of your relatives, friends or colleagues speak a language that few people understand, you can talk freely in public without fear of anyone eavesdropping, and/or you can keep any written material secret. Speakers of such Native American languages as Navajo, Choctaw and Cheyenne served as radio operators, know as Code Talkers, to keep communications secret during both World Wars. Welsh speakers played a similar role during the Bosnian War.

Getting in touch with your roots

If your family spoke a particular language in the past you might want to learn it and possibly teach it to your children. It could also be useful if you are research your family tree and some of the documents you find are written in a language foreign to you.

Culture

Maybe you're interested in the literature, poetry, films, TV programs, music or some other aspect of the culture of people who speak a particular language and want to learn their language in order to gain a better understanding of their culture.

Religion

Missionaries and other religious types learn languages in order to spread their message. In fact, missionairies have played a major role in documenting languages and devising writing systems for many of them. Others learn the language(s) in which the scriptures/holy books of their religion were originally written to gain a better understanding of them. For example, Christians might learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Biblical Greek; Muslims might learn Classical Arabic, and Buddhists might learn Sanskrit.

Food

Perhaps you enjoy the food and/or drink of a particular country or region and make regular trips there, or the recipe books you want to use are only available in a foreign language.

Make Points with a Date

Your bilingual or multilingual date will be impressed by any efforts you make to learn his or her language. And a date who speaks only English will be awed and wooed by hearing some intimate phrases spoken in one of the romance languages.

Stimulate the intellect

Studies show that seniors exhibit improved brain function over a period of time as they learn a foreign language. College students who learn a foreign language as children score better on exams and perform complex tasks better.

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Linguistic interest

Maybe you're interested in linguistic aspects of a particular language and decide to learn it in order to understand them better.

Challenging yourself

Maybe you enjoy the challenge of learning foreign languages or of learning a particularly difficult language.

Sounds/looks good to me

Perhaps you just like the sound of a particular language when it's spoken or sung. Or you find the written form of a language attractive. If you like singing, learning songs in other languages can be interesting, challenging and enjoyable.

One language is never enough!

If like me you're a bit of a linguaphile / glossophile / linguaholic or whatever you call someone who is fascinated by languages and enjoys learning them, then one language is never enough.

2. In each paragraph point out key phrases and words that explain the reason to study languages. Fill in the table.

Team work

1.Discuss the reasons to study languages mentioned above with your group mates. What do you agree with, or what ideas are absolutely fake? Try to develop the list of reasons.

2.Enjoy some more ideas that will definitely convince you of the importance of foreign language learning!

TOP 10 REASONS TO STUDY A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

10. You won‘t have to read the subtitles at foreign films.

9. You will increase the number of brain cells you have.

8. You will impress your date at a fancy restaurant by ordering dishes like Boeuf Bourguignon, using correct pronunciation.

7. You can drop names like Ibsen, Confucius, Nietzsche, Camus, Cicero, Dostoevsky, and Cervantes at cocktail parties after having read them, in the original !

6. You will know what words like deja vu, Perestroika, Tiananmen, smorgasbord, Zeitgeist, and macho REALLY mean.

5. You can get on track early with foreign language classes to prepare for study or internships abroad for a year, a semester, or a summer.

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4. When you travel abroad you will be able to talk to people in their language, thus experience up close and personal the local culture.

3. You will understand the English language and American culture better through exposure to another language and culture.

2. You will acquire a highly marketable supporting area of study enhancing any major from Anthropology to Zoology, and thus get a job that will make your friends envious and your parents relieved.

1. You will become a more well-rounded WORLD CITIZEN!!!

Writing

Write a short article to the university newspaper about the necessity of learning foreign languages for a future professional.

Project work

1.Sometimes inability to speak foreign languages can result not only in funny situations but also cause some problems. Watch the video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh5xu35bAxA which is called ―FUNNY! SOS! MAYDAY! SINKING!‖ The German Coast Guard officer should obviously have studied English better!

Think of any other situations when serious problems can arise due to inability of some professionals to speak foreign languages. Some ideas for you:

an air traffic controller;

a waiter in a restaurant;

a doctor in a clinic;

a manager in a car-rental office;

a policeman;

your choice.

2.No matter what time you live in: prehistoric, Renaissance, or globalization, LOVE makes the world go round! Now you will have a splendid opportunity to learn how to say ―I love you‖ to your sweetheart in many languages! So, enjoy it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AZ2P3jca20 !

Final Activity: a WebQuest

You should perform the webquest ―Globalization and the English Language‖ following all the instructions. The link to this quest is http://questgarden.com/123/84/6/110410174505/

Unit 3. Learning a Foreign Language

Lead-in

 European Commission presents new Rethinking

Education strategy.

A new benchmark on foreign language learning: by 2020, at least 50% of 15 year olds should have knowledge of a first foreign language (up from 42% today) and at least 75% should study a second foreign language (61% today).

(http://ec.europa.eu/education/news/20121120_en.html)

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How do find the process of foreign language learning: interesting, exciting, difficult, and boring?

Are you satisfied with the results of your study? Was the process effective? Did you achieve any progress? What do you find most difficult about learning English: understanding grammar, memorizing words, linking words together, etc.

Do you know any strategies aimed at making the process of learning easy and productive?

It is interesting to know…

Tony Buzan, in his book 'Using your Memory', points out that just 100 words comprise 50% of all words used in conversation in a language. Learning these core 100 words gets you a long way towards being able to speak that language, though at a basic level. The 100 basic words used in conversation are shown below:

(Extract reproduced from Use Your Memory by Tony Buzan with the permission of BBC

Worldwide Limited, © Tony Buzan)

Reading and Vocabulary

1. Read the text for general understanding. Think of the title to the text.

(A) There are certain things you need to know before beginning to learn a foreign language. Here are some useful and practical tips you can refer to.

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